To think our house is making DC sick

get a dehumidifier in her room and shut her bedroom door to the rest of the house. Air it out and remove mould with white vinegar first.

@Youagain2025 I agree that it’s hard, especially without income, but their DD is already very sick from living in the house so and the tenants won’t do anything about it so staying just isn’t an option. It might be a gamble but they know their DD is suffering so not changing their housing is pretty much just neglect. It might mean they need to get jobs but that’s only fair.

Have a look at aspergillosis on the NHS website to see if the symptoms look familiar to you.

I think its hard for op . She's living in someone else's house. When ever she tries to mention the damp she gets closed down by everyone. That's not easy.

It's not easy to private rent anymore. If op and her partner needs help via UC to help with the rent. Its almost impossible to find a landlord who will accept that.

They can't just leave where they are living and go to the council. as the council will say they made themselves intentionally homeless. The only thing is if their family told them to leave in writing . Then they could go via the council.

Even then depending on their area they could wait anything from a few months to 10 years + to get housed . In the mean time they would be in temporary accommodation which could be anything from a really lovely house. To a room with shared facilities and damp /mould/vermin.

I grew up in a house like that which has left me with lifelong issues such as allergies, constant rhinitis , sinusitis and asthma .
It might be structural issues causing water ingress so that needs to be investigated.
If no structural issues , then the house needs to be heated , ventilated , dehumidifier run , furniture moved and cleaned behind with mould cleaning products.

My friend had a very similar issue with her house and her daughter, who ended up extremely ill. It didn’t start improving until they moved out and she funded (via crowd funding) expert medical help. Her gp didn’t know what to do. The landlord should fix this, I live in a house that’s over a 100 years old and we have zero mould. It’s a damp problem in the house which needs fixing. Please try and find a way of moving or getting the house fixed.

Our old house had rising damp and my daughter was constantly ill. We had an inhaler when she was 2 (allergies and eczema as well, for which we were at dermatology and the allergy team at the hospital). I did just think that she was little and normal childhood illnesses.
We moved to a new build 2 years ago and she hasn't had a cold since! She's 5 now, all the congested wheezing and bunged up noses completely gone and been completely healthy since.
If you can't move, I'd recommend getting the dehumidifier pots and putting them in the places where you are seeing mold patches forming. Keep windows open as much as you can to help the airflow.
Are you able to go to the council and get any housing support if you are not in the position to rent privately?
You are definitely not overreacting, they are only little and react to things differently to adults.

That's disgusting, I'm a healthy adult and I wouldn't subject myself to it let alone any children. If I knew someone who was keeping a child in those conditions I'd report it to social services tbh. Stories in the news of kids dying from things like this over a few years.

If OP really wanted out this situation surely she'd get a job, or get on the council house list. I'm pregnant with a 4 year old. I would never consider not working and have two jobs currently. It's doable

Call environmental health and the local council to come out and look at it. Tell them about your sick child. You need to be moved urgently into social housing where there is no mold, or you need to have it all professionally cleaned and the source of this mold established.

Bugger waiting for the family to get this fixed! You have a duty of care to your child to get her out of there into cheap housing, where things like this are sorted promptly, or have it fixed yourself. You need to put prevention in place to stop her getting sick all the time and it becomes dangerous.

It's been said, sorry op!!

Op I'm sure it's been said but can you invest in a dehumidifier with air purification like a meaco but also a seperate special air purifier with colours to denote air quality.

Aside from cleaning (extremely carefully so as not to get spores in the air) I'd invest in them
Meaco 12 litre is about 140?

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Another though…snake plant and other plants that clean the air. Excellent on a bedside table.

You mentioned they have pets. What animals live in the house?

Agree dehumidifier with an air filter or a separate air purifier is absolutely necessary. Especially in your kids room when they’re sleeping, get an air purifier running through the night. For a cheap option, you could wear N95 masks in the house whenever possible. Circulate air as much as possible with a fan and open windows. Clean religiously with bleach and vinegar. Get a wet dry carpet cleaner and use it weekly.

Is it really judgement to suggest a married couple should safely house their DC before having more of them? Just seem like common sense to me.

OP has asked about the mould because her DD is unwell and she's trying to help her DD. Her GP sounds very unhelpful.

Not everyone knows about the risks associated with mould, and OP is doing the right thing by asking for advice.

I am not a mould expert, but working in housing I am very aware of the dangers of damp and mould and landlord responsibilities.

I think it's great to have the advice about dehumidifiers etc, but based on OP's description it sounds and looks like the home is not habitable or safe. While she/members of the family can try everything suggested and manage it as best she can (although I'd be a bit concerned about her having to do this personally being pregnant) there will likely be works or updates needed to resolve this that her hosts are not prepared to do.

That's why I'm suggesting she approaches the Council for assistance.

There is no need to judge OP for something she is asking for help with. She's clearly concerned about her child and trying to figure out what to do.

Seriously? Just how many more children should she bring into the mouldy overcrowded home?
She has lived there since before the first child was born, perhaps she thought things would improve? After five years living there it should have dawned on her that a second child in the house wasn't going to make her situation easier.
Why should we continually pander to people that make abysmal decisions?
Anyone can fall on hard times, OP didn't, she willfully brought two children into substandard accommodation.

Is that a loft hatch? If it is, then it's condensation as there's nowhere else its likely to come from, being well away from the external walls.
You need to change the carpet in the bedrooms at least, stop drying washing inside and ventilate much more than you're doing. Also use a dehumidifier.
Bleach does not kill mould, you need something like HG mould spray which is excellent and can be bought on Amazon.
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Has she started nursery or school? That's one way to start picking up constant colds. Over a winter pressures season as well with high rates of colds and flus.

Can you not work while you’re pregnant? I would not want my children living there and it’s not good for your unborn child either.

Your priority is to get out with your young child before the baby arrives. Otherwise you're just going round in circles and it isn't fair on your child or new baby.

What a useless response. I’m so glad we don’t live in days of parish relief boards. Plenty of people here would queue up to tell people they don’t deserve to live.

I agree, and really love my Meaco dehumidifier. If the house is cold, down around 15c or lower, then a dessicant dehumidifier will be a better option than the more common compressor type.

The Meaco DD8L is the one to look at and it is currently reduced on the Meaco website.

I had a compressor type and despite running it loads it didn't seem to make much difference. I bought the Meaco DD8L Zambezi and it has made a huge difference to the humidity, air quality and temperature. It actually warms the air a bit while it runs.

I would start by buying one and running it in the room the child sleeps in. Longer term running it somewhere central like the landing will help the whole house.

When dealing with the landlord, point out that Awaab's law is due to come in soon it only affects social landlords for now but is likely to be extended to private landlords eventually.

I also agree with checking out slow leak. We had one of those and we were ill all the time. But that mould is really not okay and the landlord needs to sort it or you need to go to the Council as you can't live there.